Week in Review

All you hear from Democrats is that we need to spend more on education. They call it investing in our future. Which is a lie. For ‘investing in our future’ is code for shoring up teachers’ pensions. And keeping higher education doing what those in control of higher education want it to do. Produce Democrat voters. Which actually starts in our public schools. Where they teach our kids to come home and tell their parents that they are ashamed of them. For all the global warming they’ve caused. And bringing them into the world in the evil, rotten United States.

These are the things our kids seem to know about. Global warming. Slavery. Stealing land from the Native Americans. American imperialism. But ask them to name the first four presidents of the United States? Four of the greatest Americans ever to live? Those in control of our public education don’t think knowing anything about them is important. Apparently (see Rolling Stone, Groupon Show The Viral Benefits of Historical Inaccuracy by Nathan Raab posted 4/11/2014 on Forbes).

In 2007, a US Mint poll showed that only 7 percent of those surveyed could name the first four Presidents in order. A later poll by Marist was not more encouraging.

George Washington (#1) kept the Continental Army together for 8 years under circumstances few could imagine today. Near the end of the Revolutionary War his character alone put down a mutiny in the officer corps. He turned down the offer to make him king. An unprecedented act at the time. King George of Britain had said if he turned down absolute power “he will be the greatest man in the world.” And Washington did. Twice. His presence was the only thing that got the states to ratify the Constitution. And his two terms in office was the only thing that gave the United States of America a chance of succeeding. This is why there is only one man we call the Father of his Country. And only one man we call the Indispensible Man. George Washington.

John Adams (#2) was a driving force for American independence. So much so that King George could not forgive him. Had they reconciled with the mother country the king would have pardoned many patriots. But not Adams. He would hang. Adams nominated George Washington to command the Continental Army. He chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. He worked with Benjamin Franklin to negotiate the peace treaty that ended the Revolutionary War. And negotiated America’s first loan from Amsterdam bankers. The first nation to recognize and do business with the new nation (other than France). And he averted war with France following the French Revolution. Giving the fledgling nation a chance to survive.

Thomas Jefferson (#3) was the author of Declaration of Independence. The author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom. And the Father of the University of Virginia. The three things Jefferson was most proud of and appear on his tombstone. As president his administration bought the Louisiana Territory from the French. More than doubling the size of the United States. And sent out Lewis and Clark to explore these vast new territories. And he slashed government spending wherever he could. A true believer in limited government.

James Madison (#4) is the Father of the Constitution. He wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to encourage ratification of the Constitution. The Federalist Papers are still referenced today in Constitutional law. He also helped the effort to ratify the Constitution in Virginia where he battled the great patriot Patrick Henry. Who feared a large central government. Madison served in the first Congress. Where he championed the Bill of Rights. And, later, supervised the Louisiana Purchase as President Jefferson’s Secretary of State.

It is indeed a sad commentary on our educational system that only 7% of those questioned could identify these great Americans. And it’s not a lack of money causing this. It’s a lacking in the curriculum. Choosing global warming, slavery, stealing land from the Native Americans, American imperialism, etc. Instead of teaching our kids why the United States is the greatest country in the world. Because of men like these. Who put the individual before the state. Who made freedom and liberty things we take for granted. Instead of things people can only dream of. Which is the case in much of the world today. And has been the norm throughout history.

Fundamental Truth

Thomas Jefferson wanted to keep the New Federal Government and Money Apart

Thomas Jefferson did not trust government. And he didn’t trust moneyed men. Because when the two come together they cause nothing but trouble. That’s why he hated and distrusted Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton wanted a strong central government. A central bank. And an economic system favoring merchants and bankers. With big city moneyed men financing the government in return for special favors.

This is why the nation’s capital isn’t in New York City. It once was. But one of the first deals the Hamilton and Jefferson camps made was the relocation of the nation’s capital to a mosquito-infested swamp on the Potomac River. A long, long way from the moneyed men in New York City. To try to keep the new federal government and money apart. To restrict the influence of the moneyed men on the government. And to prevent the government from having easy access to big money.

Why did Jefferson want to do this? Well, they fought for their independence from Great Britain. Which was a constitutional monarchy. Where some in Parliament were no friends of British America. And got the king to agree with them rather than the pro-British America faction in Parliament. Ironically, the Americans got help in their War of Independence from France. Which had an absolute monarchy. Whose king ruled with no check on his power. Both governments were in the big cities. London. And Paris. Where the moneyed men were. In the big cities. Allowing these monarchies to do a whole lot of mischief all around the world. And a fair amount of mischief inside their own countries. Because the money and the government were in the same city.

Government + Money = Corruption

Great Britain and France were forever at war with each other. And with other countries. Requiring a lot of money. Which they got from the moneyed men. In return for special privileges that allowed them to get ever richer. Of course the mischief grew greater as they fought a world war or two. Requiring ever more money. Which they got from, of course, taxing the rest of the people. Even those who could little afford it. And once this starts, once the government starts accumulating debt, that taxation will only get greater.

This is what Jefferson was worried about. And why he so distrusted Hamilton. The Founding Fathers were all gentlemen of the Enlightenment. Disinterested public servants. Honorable men who would never take advantage of their position in government for personal gain. Because for these men honor was everything. Some even fought duels to protect their honor. As Hamilton did. And died. Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Jay and Franklin were men of exceptional integrity. Men who could be trusted. But here is where Hamilton and Jefferson differed. Hamilton believed only men like them would ever enter government. While Jefferson believed that government service would one day attract mostly scoundrels and knaves.

Of course, Jefferson was right. For as the nation grew so did the size of government. And the need for great big piles of money. Which the moneyed men provided. In exchange for special privileges. Patronage. Lucrative government contracts. Etc. Big piles of money flowed into Washington. And favors flowed out from Washington. With many a politician getting rich in the process of getting rich moneyed men richer. Politicians who used their position in government for personal gain. Corrupted politicians. As government + money = corruption. Which is why politicians always leave office richer than when they entered office.

Power + Corruption = Tyranny

This is how it started. As the size of government grew corruption grew. Just as Jefferson feared. All that money flowing into Washington corrupted ever more politicians. Who were not gentlemen of the Enlightenment. But the scoundrels and knaves Jefferson knew would come. Who used their position in government for personal gain. Whose corruption grew so great it exploded federal spending. So great that taxes from the moneyed men AND the middle class were unable to fund it. So the taxation grew more aggressive.

The government created by the Founding Fathers had no income taxes. They funded the few things the new national government did with tariffs for the most part. People lived from day to day without any fear of the taxman. The United States even did away with debtors’ prison. Prison where people were sent who could not pay their debts. A relic of the 19th century. Sort of. For there is one debt people can still go to prison for not paying. Past-due taxes. For the IRS can take everything you have and imprison you if you don’t pay your taxes. And those taxes have grown great as of late. As the tax code has grown convoluted. Requiring businesses to hire armies of accountants and lawyers to comply with. So the government can help the moneyed men who help the government. In return for special privileges, of course. Leaving the masses dreading April 15. As they dread opening any letter from the IRS.

If you want to know what it was like living under an absolute monarchy just think of the IRS. People fear the IRS. Just as people feared the arbitrary power of an absolute monarchy. A king could take your property and lock you away. Just like the IRS. And if you spoke out against the monarchy the king could make your life really unpleasant. Just like the IRS. During the 2012 election the IRS targeted conservative political groups to stifle their free speech. Delayed their tax-exempt status approval. And harassed them with costly tax audits. And now their tyranny has extended to people in the middle class. Who unbeknownst to them had a family member owe the federal government. Years earlier. Even a generation earlier. And the IRS is arbitrarily seizing the tax refunds from these debtors’ distant relatives to pay these debts. Even though they are in no way responsible for these debts. And the government has no documentation for this debt. Doesn’t matter. Because they have the power to do this. And these people are powerless to stop them. Just like people living under an absolute monarchy were powerless to stop their king from doing anything to them. And this is what Jefferson feared. For after corruption comes tyranny. For power + corruption = tyranny. (Just look at every tin-pot dictator that has oppressed his people). Which is why people fear the IRS. And the federal government the IRS is beholden to. Because they have become everything Jefferson feared they would.

History 101

(Originally published February 12th, 2013)

Prior to 1900 the Role of the Federal Government was primarily to Provide for the Common Defense

In 1800 the new federal government didn’t do a lot. It spent only about $11 million (in nominal dollars). With 55% going to defense. About 31% went to pay interest on the war debt. About 2% went to the postal service. And about 12% went to other stuff. Defense spending and interest on the war debt added up to about 86% of all federal outlays (see Government Spending Details).

In 1860, just before the Civil War, spending increased to $78 million (in nominal dollars). Defense spending fell to 37%. Interest spending fell to 4%. And postal service spending rose to 19%. While spending on other stuff rose to 40%. Just over 60 years from the founding the federal government had changed. It was less limited than the Founding Fathers designed it to be.

In 1900 spending increased to $628.6 million (in nominal dollars). With defense spending coming in at 53%. The postal service at 17%. Interest went up to 6.4%. And other spending fell to 24%. Again, defense spending consumed over half of all federal spending. For the role of the federal government was still primarily providing for the common defense. Running the postal service. Treating with other nations. And trading with them. As well as collecting duties and tariffs at our ports which paid for the federal government. There was a lot of graft and patronage. And long lines for government jobs. Primarily because government was still somewhat limited. With a limited number of government jobs to reward campaign contributors. But that was about to change.

The Progressives expanded the Role of the Federal Government in our Lives and made it more Motherly

The American Civil War killed about 625,000 men. With an 1860 population of 31,443,321 those deaths amounted to about 2% of the prewar population. To put that into perspective if 2% of the U.S. population died in a war today that would be approximately 6.2 million people. And to put that into perspective the total population of the state of Missouri is about 6 million people. So the American Civil War claimed a very large percentage of the population. Leaving a lot of children to grow up without a father. Which had a profound impact on the size of the federal government.

Prior to this generation American men were some of the manliest men in the world. Tough and rugged. Who could live off of the land. Completely self-sufficient. These are the men that made America. Men who fought and won our independence. Who explored and settled the frontier. Farmers who worked all day in the field. Men who dug canals by hand. And built our railroads. Men who endured hardships and never complained. Then came the Civil War generation. Sons who lost their fathers. And wives who lost their husbands, brothers, fathers and uncles. Who lost all the men in their lives in that horrible war. These women hated that war. And manly displays of aggression. For it was manly displays of aggression that led to fighting. And war. Having lost so much already they didn’t want to lose the only men they had left. Their sons. So they protected and nurtured them. Taught them to shun violence. To be kinder and softer. To be not so tough or rugged. To be less manly. And when these men grew up they went into politics and started the progressive movement.

The federal government was no longer just to provide for the common defense. To run the postal service. To treat with other nations. To trade with other nations. Run our custom houses. No. Now the federal government grew to be kinder, softer and more motherly. The progressives expanded the role of the federal government in our lives. Woodrow Wilson wanted to turn the country into a quasi monarchy. With a very strong executive branch that could rule against the wishes of Congress. The Federal Reserve (America’s central bank) came into existence during Wilson’s presidency. Which was going to end recessions forever. Then came the Great Depression. A crisis so good that FDR did not let it go to waste. FDR expanded the size of the federal government. Putting it on a path of permanent growth. And it’s been growing ever since.

The federal government grew beyond its Constitutional limits. And the intent of the Founding Fathers. Just as Thomas Jefferson feared. It consolidated power just as all monarchies did. And that was Jefferson’s fear. Consolidation. Seeing the states absorbed by a leviathan federal government. Becoming the very thing the American colonists fought for independence from. So that’s where the federal government changed. In the early 20th Century. Before that it spent money mostly for defense and a postal service. Now it spends money for every social program under the sun. There is great debate now in Washington about reducing the deficit. With the Democrats blaming the deficit problems on too much defense spending. And too little taxation on the rich. But if you look at the history of federal spending since 1940 the numbers say otherwise (see Table 3.1—OUTLAYS BY SUPERFUNCTION AND FUNCTION: 1940–2017 and A History of Debt In The United States).

As defense spending (including Veterans Benefits and Services) rose during World War II non-defense spending (Education, Training, Employment, Social Services, Health, Income Security, Social Security, Energy, Natural Resources, Environment, Commerce, Housing Credit, Transportation, Community and Regional Development, International Affairs, General Science, Space, Technology, Agriculture, Administration of Justice and General Government) fell as a percentage of total federal outlays. And the federal debt rose (federal debt is in constant 2012 dollars). After the war defense spending fell to 50% while the percentage of non-defense spending rose. And the federal debt dropped slightly and remained relatively constant for about 30 years.

This tug of war between defense spending and non-defense spending is also called the guns vs. butter debate. Where those in favor of spending money on guns at the federal level are more constructionists. They want to follow the Constitution as the Founding Fathers wrote it. While those who favor spending money on butter at the federal level want to want to buy more votes by giving away free stuff.

Defense spending ramped back up for the Korean War and the Cold War during the Fifties. After the armistice ended hostilities in Korea defense spending began a long decline back to about 50% of all federal outlays. Where it flattened out and rose slightly for the Vietnam War. After America exited the Vietnam War defense spending entered a long decline where it dropped below 30% of all federal outlays. Reagan’s defense spending raised defense spending back up to 30%. After Reagan won the Cold War Clinton enjoyed the peace dividend and cut defense spending down to just below 20%. After 9/11 Bush increased defense spending just above 20% of all federal outlays where it remains today.

During this time non-defense spending was basically the mirror of defense spending. Showing that they decreased defense spending over time to increase non-defense spending. But there wasn’t enough defense spending to cut so borrowing took off during the Reagan administration. It leveled off during the Clinton administration as he enjoyed the peace dividend after the defeat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Non-defense spending soared over 70% of all federal outlays during the Bush administration. Requiring additional borrowings. Then President Obama increased non-defense spending so great it resulted in record deficits. Taking the federal debt to record highs.

So is defense spending the cause of our deficits? No. Defense spending as a percentage of all federal outlays is near a historical low. While non-defense spending has soared to a record high. As did our federal debt. Clearly showing that the driving force behind our deficits and debt is non-defense spending. Not defense spending. Nor is it because we’re not taxing people enough. We’re just spending too much. In about 50 years non-defense spending rose from around 22% of all federal outlays to 74%. An increase of 223%. While defense spending fell from 76% to 22%. A decline of 245%. While the federal debt rose 619%. And interest on the debt soared 24,904%. The cost of favoring butter in the guns vs. butter debate. The federal government has been gutting the main responsibility of the federal government, defense, to pay for something that didn’t enter the federal government until the 20th Century. All that non-defense spending. Which doesn’t even include the postal service today.

History 101

The Inauguration Date was originally in March to allow for Long Travel Times

It was difficult to be a career politician at the federal/national level at the Founding. Thanks to the horse. The primary means of transportation over great distances. Either on horseback. Or pulled in a buggy. Neither of which provided for a comfortable ride. With that discomfort compounded by the fact you were leaving family and friends behind. People you wouldn’t see again for a very long time.

When John Adams served in the Continental Congress he rode for some two weeks through brutal winter weather on hard, frozen ground. Ground so hard and dangerous that they let the horses only walk. Whether it was traveling to Cambridge to meet with the newly appointed General Washington facing off with the British in Boston. Or riding on to the federal capital in Philadelphia. The ride was long, brutal and cold. As well as lonely. For Adams missed his wife and family when away serving his country. Which he did often. And longed to return home.

James Madison was a Virginian. And hated traveling up to the federal capital in Philadelphia. And then later in New York. For he hated being away from his wife. And he hated those long rides on hard, bumpy roads. As Madison suffered from some digestive disorders. Leaving him with chronic discomfort in his abdomen. And lower. For he probably suffered from hemorrhoids, too. Making those long, bumpy rides unbearable. This is why the inauguration date was originally in March instead of January like it is today. They had to allow for long travel times and bad weather for the new office holders to get to their offices. Unlike today where you can fly from anywhere in the United States to Washington D.C. in one day.

James Reynolds had his Wife seduce and sleep with Alexander Hamilton so he could Blackmail Him

George Washington was president when the nation’s capital was in New York City. Which was a long way from Mount Vernon. Washington’s Virginian home. Other Virginians were the first Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson. The first Attorney General. Edmund Randolph. And the first Speaker of the House. James Madison. While the first Vice President, John Adams, and the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox, came from Massachusetts. The first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, on the other hand, was a New Yorker. Living in New York City. Close to the capital.

Ironically, the man closest to his wife was the one to have an extramarital affair. Alexander Hamilton. Who was targeted by a couple of con people. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. That’s right, Mr. Reynolds used his wife, Maria, to seduce Alexander Hamilton. Including actually having sexual relations with him. Just so he, James Reynolds, could blackmail Hamilton for money. Threatening to tell Hamilton’s wife. And ruining his good reputation as a gentleman if he didn’t pay. He paid. For awhile. And with his own money. Reynolds was later arrested for counterfeiting. And told the opposition party of Hamilton’s affair. Thomas Jefferson. And his fellow Republicans (the forerunner to the Democrat party, not the Republican Party of today whose first president was Abraham Lincoln).

Thomas Jefferson loved his wife and hated being apart from her. The last place he wanted to be in 1775/1776 was at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. A lonely year spent a very long way from his wife. Who was sickly. And died in 1782. Jefferson was at her bedside when she passed. And he was devastated. He had promised her he would never remarry. And he never did. He later accepted the post as United States Minister to France. A much greater distance from Virginia. Which is probably the first time he wanted to be far away from his beloved Monticello. To escape the desolation of life without his wife.

The Founding Fathers served Reluctantly and didn’t leave Office Richer than when they entered Office

Hamilton and Jefferson hated each other. They vehemently disagreed with each other’s vision for the United States. When Jefferson got wind of the Hamilton affair he pounced on it. Well, not so much him. But the Republican Party which he was the de facto head of. And a guy by the name of James Callender. A pamphleteer and journalist. And all around scandalmonger. He made the Hamilton affair public for the Jefferson Republicans. Who, being men of the Enlightenment, would not sink to such a low level. But Callender would. And did. Who Jefferson helped with some financial support. But Callender ended up in jail for sedition. And when he got out he wanted Jefferson to make him post master general of Virginia in return for services rendered. Jefferson refused. Then Callender turned on Jefferson. Revealing that it was him that was bankrolling his journalistic scandal mongering. And that he fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings.

George Washington was the commanding general of the Continental Army from 1775 until 1783. And he spent most of that time with his army in the field. Away from his beloved Mount Vernon. Just after he returned to civilian life came the Philadelphia Convention. And a new nation. The first president of that new nation? Much to his displeasure it was him. George Washington. Who was the only one people were willing to give the powers of the new federal government to. And after sacrificing so much he did not want to see it all be for nothing. So he served one term as president. Then another. In New York. A long way from Virginia. And pretty much hated every minute of it. Especially the bickering between his ‘children’. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. He was never happier than when he left office in 1797. Sadly, he lived just shy of three years in retirement.

The Founding Fathers hated being in office. They hated being away from home. And the long travel time to and from home. Which meant when they were serving in office they did not see their family and friends. Unlike today. Where modern transportation allows career politicians to enjoy the graft in Washington. While breaking it up with numerous vacations back home. Without having to endure two weeks of bouncy rides with hemorrhoids. Or riding horseback in blowing snow. Being a career politician today is like being part of an aristocracy. Where you travel first class. And live first class. Unlike the Spartan loneliness at the Founding. And the animus. Washington’s, Jefferson’s, Madison’s and Hamilton’s lives all got worse from serving. Washington was cheated out of a long retirement he more than earned. Jefferson suffered bitter loneliness after losing his wife and probably did turn to the comfort of a slave. (Sally Hemings had accompanied him to Paris to care for his daughter. And later was a house servant. Though he didn’t legally free her and her children from slavery they did live their lives out as free people after he died. Which was probably a compromise by Jefferson to reconcile his feelings for her while protecting his historical legacy). Something that blemishes his reputation to this day. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson went from practically best friends to bitter enemies before they left Washington (though they rekindled their friendship later in retirement). James Madison was the father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Believed in a strong federal government and wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton to help ratify the Constitution. Then he switch sides. And sided with Thomas Jefferson and fought for limited government. Then he was president during the War of 1812 and believed in a strong federal government again after struggling through that war with a weak government. Madison spent his later years rewriting letters and correspondence. Making large revisions to his historical legacy. While Alexander Hamilton’s stand on principle ultimately led to his death in a duel with Aaron Burr.

Washington, Jefferson and Madison all returned home after serving as president poorer than when they left for Washington. That just doesn’t happen today. Today once you get elected to a federal office in Washington you return home a millionaire. Because being a professional politician today pays very well. Which is why there is less standing on principle in Washington and more doing what it takes to remain in power. Such as lying to the American people. “If you like your health insurance and your doctor you can keep your health insurance and doctor.” The Founding Fathers served reluctantly. And their lives were worse for serving. But the country was far better off because they did. And that’s something else that just doesn’t happen today.

Fundamental Truth

The People ratified the Constitution only because George Washington would be the First President

George Washington did not want to be president. After winning the American Revolutionary War his place in history was set. If the first government following the Constitutional Convention failed he didn’t want history to remember him for that. Also, Washington was an old man. Most Washington men were already dead at his age. Something he was very conscious of. And he wanted to live out his remaining days, however few he had, at Mount Vernon. With Martha. But America’s Cincinnatus would, reluctantly, answer the call of duty again.

The new Constitution was not very popular. The old patriots of 1776 hated it. With a passion. While Washington, Alexander Hamilton and others who served in the Continental Army were generally for it. Because they saw how the weak Continental Congress had almost lost the war. Starving the Continental Army of the supplies they needed. Unable even to provide it with shoes and clothing during the long cold winters at Valley Forge and Morristown. And then there was the inflation. Worthless Continental paper dollars that forced the Army to take what they needed to survive. Giving the people they took from IOUs for the Continental Congress to honor later.

With the British defeated the Americans lost the common enemy that held the states together. And they were soon back to looking after their own interests. Charging tariffs to other states. Even sending militias to fight over disputed land. The nation was falling apart before it even became a nation. The Philadelphia Convention addressed these problems. And over a long, hot, humid and horsefly invested convention they wrote a new Constitution. Few loved it. But understood that it was probably the best they would ever get. Ratifying it was another brutal battle. And all throughout this process people reluctantly got on board. Basically because of one thing. The first president would be someone that all the people could trust with such great powers. The man who gave up power when he could have been king. George Washington. So Cincinnatus laid down his plow once more. And went to serve his nation. Again.

The most Important Precedent Washington set was not Exceeding the Limits of the Constitution

This is how it used to be. When our politicians were men of the enlightenment. Disinterested men who went out of their way NOT to profit from the offices they held. Men who would rather have been back home. But reluctantly served. Because the nation needed the best leaders during that formidable time. That’s why Washington served a second term. Not because he wanted to. But if he didn’t Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton would have paralyzed the government with their constant fighting and seething hatred of each other. So Washington stayed on. Father to these children that couldn’t get along. And father to a nation.

Washington was never happier than when he left office. This man who could have been king. Sacrificing all of his wants and desires. And putting the nation first. This old man that was cheating death. Living beyond his years. Who was used to giving orders in the army and having subordinates dutifully following them. He hated the political process. The deal making. The special interests. Those things modern politicians live for. Because it is the pathway to wealth and power. Which is why people serve today. Who do not understand the meaning of selfless disinterest. For they’re in it for number one. And when they leave office they want to have more wealth than they know what to do with it.

Whereas Washington kept true to the Constitution. And didn’t make arguments about it being a living document. Or questioned the intent of the Founding Fathers. For he was one of them. He was there in Philadelphia in 1787. He sat in the chair with that sun on it. The one Benjamin Franklin studied for so long while sitting in that stuffy hall. Wondering if the sun was rising. Or setting. After they signed the Constitution Franklin was certain the sun was rising for the new nation. A nation of laws. Where no man was above the law. And the supreme law of the land was there in the Constitution. Washington was the first president. Setting the precedent for all that would follow. And the most important precedent was not exceeding the limits of the Constitution. For he knew a strong central government was necessary for the nation to have any hopes of surviving. But he feared that once anyone exceeded the limits of the Constitution the whole experiment in self-government would come crashing down.

Life is so Good in an Aristocracy that Politicians will do Anything it takes to Win Reelection

What Thomas Jefferson feared most was consolidation. Fears of a strong central government turning independent states into federal districts of the new government. With growing powers to administer these lands from afar. Turning the people living on these lands once again into subjects of a distant ruling power. Who are there to serve. To be obedient. And revere this distant power. Giving the duly elected president king-like powers. Who would further consolidate his power. This was Jefferson’s fear. A fear Alexander Hamilton did not share. Because he assumed all men in the government would be disinterested men of the enlightenment. Like the Founding Fathers were. But Jefferson knew you could not trust men to refrain from using power given to them. So it was best not to give them that power in the first place.

Today you can see all of Jefferson’s fears come to pass. A federal government larger and more powerful than even Alexander Hamilton could have imagined. And a new fourth branch of government. The IRS. Powerful. And fearsome. Which appears to be helping the current administration to suppress the political opposition. By harassing anyone espousing Jeffersonian principles. Limited government. States’ rights. Constitutional limits. Etc. Which are also Tea Party principles. That set of principles that launched a great grassroots movement that helped the Republicans win back the House of Representatives in 2010. Something the Democrats were very conscious of. And have since pilloried the Tea Party with every invective under the sun. To delegitimize the Tea Party. To prevent another 2010 from happening again.

President Obama is the most liberal president to ever occupy the White House. And he won reelection. Which isn’t easy for a liberal to do on a national stage. Because only about 21% of the people call themselves liberal. While 35% call themselves moderate. And 40% call themselves conservative (see Conservatives Remain the Largest Ideological Group in U.S. posted 1/12/2012 on Gallup). So liberals are in the minority. Yet they hold majority power. Which begs the question. How do they win elections when the majority opposes their ideology? Well, you don’t do it by acting like George Washington. You know, with integrity. But, instead, with rascality. You don’t exactly tell the truth. You make a lot of promises. Even if you have no intention of keeping them. And you use the awesome power of your office to attack your political enemies. For it’s a different mindset today. Whereas the Founding Fathers were trying to destroy an aristocracy today’s politicians are trying to build and maintain one. And life is so good in an aristocracy that once you get in you never want to leave. Which is why politicians will do anything it takes to win reelection. Anything. And if they were honest you’d hear them say so. “Damn the truth, promises and the Constitution. I’m trying to get reelected.” But they’re not honest. So you will never hear them say this. You’ll just have to see it in their deeds. And how unlike the Founding Fathers they are.

History 101

Merchants raise their Prices when the Monetary Authority depreciates the Currency

What is inflation? A depreciation of the currency. By adding more money into the money supply each piece of currency becomes less valuable. Let’s assume our currency is whiskey. In bottles. Whiskey has value because people are willing to pay for it. And because we are willing to pay for it we are willing to accept it as legal tender. Because we can always trade it to others. Who can drink it. Or they can trade it with others.

Now let’s say the monetary authority wants to stimulate economic activity. Which they try to do by expanding the money supply. So there is more money available to borrow. And because there is more money available to borrow interest rates are lower. Hence making it easy for people to borrow money. But the monetary authority doesn’t want to make more whiskey. Because that is costly to do. Instead, they choose an easier way of expanding the money supply. By watering down the bottles of whiskey.

Now pretend you are a merchant. And people are coming in with the new watered-down whiskey. What do you do? You know the whiskey is watered down. And that if you go and try to resell it you’re not going to get what you once did. For people typically drink whiskey for that happy feeling of being drunk. But with this water-downed whiskey it will take more drinks than it used to take to get drunk. So what do you as a merchant do when the money is worth less? You raise your prices. For it will take more bottles of lesser-valued whiskey to equal the purchasing power of full-valued whiskey. And if they water down that whiskey too much? You just won’t accept it as legal tender. Because it will be little different from water. And you can get that for free from any well or creek. Yes, water is necessary to sustain life. But no one will pay ‘whiskey’ prices for it when they can drink it from a well or a creek for free.

It was while in the Continental Army that Alexander Hamilton began thinking about a Central Bank

During the American Revolutionary War we had a very weak central government. The Continental Congress. Which had no taxing authority. Which posed a problem in fighting the Revolutionary War. Because wars are expensive. You need to buy arms and supplies for your army. You have to feed your army. And you have to pay your army. The Continental Congress paid for the Revolution by asking states to contribute to the cause. Those that did never gave as much as the Congress asked for. They got a lot of money from France. As we were fighting their long-time enemy. And we borrowed some money from other European nations. But it wasn’t enough. So they turned to printing paper money.

This unleashed a brutal inflation. Because everyone was printing money. The central government. And the states. Prices soared. Merchants didn’t want to accept it as legal tender. Preferring specie instead. Because you can’t print gold and silver. So you can’t depreciate specie like you can paper money. All of this just made life in the Continental Army worse. For they were hungry, half-naked and unpaid. And frustrating for men like Alexander Hamilton. Who served on General Washington’s staff. Hamilton, and many other officers in the Continental Army, saw how the weakness of the central government almost lost the war for them.

It was while in the army that Hamilton began thinking about a central bank. But that’s all he did. For there was not much support for a central government let alone a central bank. That would change, though, after the Constitutional Convention of 1787 created the United States of America. And America’s first president, George Washington, chose his old aide de camp as his treasury secretary. Alexander Hamilton. A capitalist who understood finance.

Despite the Carnage from the Subprime Mortgage Crisis the Fed is still Printing Money

At the time the new nation’s finances were in a mess. Few could make any sense of them. But Hamilton could. He began by assuming the states’ war debts. Added them to the national war debt. Which he planned on paying off by issuing new debt. That he planned on servicing with new excise taxes. And he would use his bank to facilitate all of this. The First Bank of the United States. Which faced fierce opposition from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Who opposed it for a couple of reasons. For one they argued it wasn’t constitutional. There was no central bank enumerated in the Constitution. And the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution stated that any power not enumerated to the new federal government belonged to the states. And that included banking. A central bank would only further consolidate power in the new federal government. By consolidating the money. Transferring it from the local banks. Which they feared would benefit the merchants, manufacturers and speculators in the north. By making cheap money available for them to make money with money. Which is the last thing people who believed America’s future was an agrarian one of yeoman farmers wanted to do.

They fought against the establishment of the bank. But failed. The bank got a 20 year charter. Jefferson and Madison would later have a change of heart on a central bank. For it helped Jefferson with the Louisiana Purchase. And like it or not the country was changing. It wasn’t going to be an agrarian one. America’s future was an industrial one. And that required credit. Just as Alexander Hamilton thought. So after the War of 1812, after the charter of the First Bank of the United States had expired, James Madison signed into law a 20-year charter for the Second Bank of the United States. Which actually did some of the things Jefferson and Madison feared. It concentrated a lot of money and power into a few hands. Allowing speculators easy access to cheap money. Which they borrowed and invested. Creating great asset bubbles. And when they burst, great depressions. Because of that paper money. Which they printed so much of that it depreciated the dollar. And caused asset prices to soar to artificial heights.

Andrew Jackson did not like the bank. For he saw it creating a new noble class. A select few were getting rich and powerful. Something the Americans fought to get away from. When the charter for the Second Bank of the United States was set to expire Congress renewed the charter. Because of their friends at the bank. And their friends who profited from the bank. But when they sent it to Andrew Jackson for his signature he vetoed the bill. And Congress could not override it. Sensing some blowback from the bank Jackson directed that they transfer the government’s money out of the Second Bank of the United States. And deposited it into some state banks. The president of the bank, Nicholas Biddle, did not give up, though. For he could hurt those state banks. Such as calling in loans. Which he did. Among other things. To try and throw the country into a depression. So he could blame it on the president’s anti-bank policies. And get his charter renewed. But it didn’t work. And the Second Bank of the United States was no more.

National banks versus local banks. Hard money (specie) versus paper money. Nobility versus the common people. They’ve argued the same arguments throughout the history of the United States. But we never learn anything. We never learn the ultimate price of too much easy money. Even now. For here we are. Suffering through the worst recession since the Great Depression. Because our current central bank, the Federal Reserve System, likes to print paper money. And create asset bubbles. Their last being the one that burst into the subprime mortgage crisis. And despite the carnage from that they’re still printing money. Money that the rich few are borrowing to invest in the stock market. Speculators. Who are making a lot of money. Buying and selling assets. Thanks to the central bank’s inflationary policies that keep increasing prices.

Fundamental Truth

The History of Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army and the English Civil War were not that Distant

Benjamin Franklin said the first responsibility of every citizen is to question authority. That was kind of America’s thing. Giving the finger to the governing authority. Figuratively. And sometimes literally. Starting with King George III. One of our earliest flags said, “Don’t tread on me.” This flag had a coiled rattle snake on it. Franklin thought the rattle snake was a good symbol of the American people. If the British left us alone this snake would cause no harm. If you get too close this snake will warn you to back off by shaking its rattle. If you don’t heed this warning and threaten this snake it will strike you with lethal force.

This problem with authority almost lost the Revolutionary War for us. At first American soldiers didn’t like following orders. For if they could rebel against their king they could just as easily rebel against a commanding officer. George Washington stopped that. But this mistrust of authority was systemic. The state governments did not trust the Continental Congress. That distant central power. Anymore than they trusted that other distant central power. The British monarchy.

So the Continental Congress was woefully underfunded throughout the Revolutionary War. Finding it very difficult to supply the Continental Army. Or pay her soldiers. Something else the states didn’t trust. A standing army. For the history of Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army and the English Civil War were not that distant. Or the peace that followed. Where that army helped keep the new government in power. And unleashed great woe and suffering to the Catholics in Ireland and Scotland.

Kings don’t suffer Personal Attacks in the Newspapers like an Elected President Does

So the Americans stood up to that distant power. And to her ministers in the American colonies. Not afraid to speak truth to power. To speak out about the abuses of King George in the colonies. Which Thomas Jefferson summarized in the Declaration of Independence. They spoke contemptuously of the ruling British authorities. When they won their independence they transferred this contempt to the new federal government. The states trusted the new central authority in the United States little more than they trusted the one on the far side of the Atlantic. And many fought as passionately against it as they fought against King George.

Even those in the new central government didn’t trust each other. Political parties formed. Alexander Hamilton led the Federalists. Who wanted a strong central government. And Thomas Jefferson led the Republicans. Who wanted a weak central government. Keeping the power in the states. Hamilton and Jefferson hated each other. Despised each other. Believed that the other was everything that was wrong in the new nation. And they attacked each other viciously in the newspapers through their surrogates. Which were extensions of these political parties. So if you wanted fair and balanced news all you had to do was read at least two newspapers. Weigh the vitriol and lies in each to arrive at the truth. Which was somewhere in between.

And these papers were pretty nasty. Even attacking the most beloved man in the country. George Washington. Calling him old and senile. Secretly British. A mere puppet controlled by that evil puppet master Alexander Hamilton. George Washington could have been king with the blessings of the American people. Instead he chose to keep the United States a republic. And suffered horribly for it. For kings don’t suffer the personal attacks in the newspapers like an elected president does. This was representative government. Where the people are sovereign. And the president is a servant of the people. Not the other way around. Like in a monarchy.

You can call LBJ and George W. Bush Murderers but you can’t ask President Obama Questions he doesn’t want to Answer

People marveled at how George Washington stepped down from power after his second term as president. Even King George said that if he did that he would be the greatest man in the world. And he did. Proving the American system. But while others marveled about how he could give up power after so short a time in office Washington more likely marveled about how long he was able to stay in office. For he hated the politics. And the newspaper attacks. He was anxious to step down. He was giddy during the transfer of power. Happy to be going home. While poor John Adams had to deal with all the politics. The newspaper attacks. And the lies.

Contrast this to President Obama. Who gets treated by the media with kid gloves. Who don’t question him at all. Or his administration. It being more like a monarchy than a republic. After 4 Americans died in Benghazi the president offered no explanation. And the media did not pressure him for one. When Congress finally got to question the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, they asked her who was responsible for the failure to provide for the security for our diplomats in Benghazi? Who was responsible for not coming to their aid while they were under attack? And who was responsible for the lie about it being a spontaneous uprising in response to a YouTube video? She only yelled “what difference does it make?” And that was that. The media reported that the Republicans were mean to her. And never pressed her for answers. Or President Obama.

Even the people aren’t demanding answers. Which is sad. For once upon a time the people chanted, “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” Making the political pressure of the Vietnam War so unbearable that he refused to run for a second term. But where is this outrage over President Obama’s use of drones to kill terrorists as well as the innocent civilians and children around them? Or the targeting of American citizens without any due process? We hear nothing from the people. Or the media. The same people and media who wanted to try the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in a U.S. court not far from Ground Zero during the Bush Administration.

Why the double standard? Why was it okay to question authority in the Sixties and Seventies? No matter who was in power. But after that it was only permissible to question authority when Republicans were in power? Why is it you can call LBJ and George W. Bush murderers but you can’t ask President Obama questions he doesn’t want to answer? When Dr. Benjamin Carson spoke truth to power at the National Prayer Breakfast criticizing Obamacare and the president’s economic policies the Left attacked him for not showing deference to the president. How dare he exercise free speech in a public setting they asked? A far cry from “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” No. This president we’re supposed to show deference to. As if he was a king. Why? Apparently now that the anti-establishment types are running government we are no longer to question authority but embrace it. So they can do whatever they want to do. And change the country however they want to change it. While that whole questioning authority thing was okay when they were on the outside looking in. But now that they are on the inside looking out we need to question less and obey more.

History 101

Prior to 1900 the Role of the Federal Government was primarily to Provide for the Common Defense

In 1800 the new federal government didn’t do a lot. It spent only about $11 million (in nominal dollars). With 55% going to defense. About 31% went to pay interest on the war debt. About 2% went to the postal service. And about 12% went to other stuff. Defense spending and interest on the war debt added up to about 86% of all federal outlays (see Government Spending Details).

In 1860, just before the Civil War, spending increased to $78 million (in nominal dollars). Defense spending fell to 37%. Interest spending fell to 4%. And postal service spending rose to 19%. While spending on other stuff rose to 40%. Just over 60 years from the founding the federal government had changed. It was less limited than the Founding Fathers designed it to be.

In 1900 spending increased to $628.6 million (in nominal dollars). With defense spending coming in at 53%. The postal service at 17%. Interest went up to 6.4%. And other spending fell to 24%. Again, defense spending consumed over half of all federal spending. For the role of the federal government was still primarily providing for the common defense. Running the postal service. Treating with other nations. And trading with them. As well as collecting duties and tariffs at our ports which paid for the federal government. There was a lot of graft and patronage. And long lines for government jobs. Primarily because government was still somewhat limited. With a limited number of government jobs to reward campaign contributors. But that was about to change.

The Progressives expanded the Role of the Federal Government in our Lives and made it more Motherly

The American Civil War killed about 625,000 men. With an 1860 population of 31,443,321 those deaths amounted to about 2% of the prewar population. To put that into perspective if 2% of the U.S. population died in a war today that would be approximately 6.2 million people. And to put that into perspective the total population of the state of Missouri is about 6 million people. So the American Civil War claimed a very large percentage of the population. Leaving a lot of children to grow up without a father. Which had a profound impact on the size of the federal government.

Prior to this generation American men were some of the manliest men in the world. Tough and rugged. Who could live off of the land. Completely self-sufficient. These are the men that made America. Men who fought and won our independence. Who explored and settled the frontier. Farmers who worked all day in the field. Men who dug canals by hand. And built our railroads. Men who endured hardships and never complained. Then came the Civil War generation. Sons who lost their fathers. And wives who lost their husbands, brothers, fathers and uncles. Who lost all the men in their lives in that horrible war. These women hated that war. And manly displays of aggression. For it was manly displays of aggression that led to fighting. And war. Having lost so much already they didn’t want to lose the only men they had left. Their sons. So they protected and nurtured them. Taught them to shun violence. To be kinder and softer. To be not so tough or rugged. To be less manly. And when these men grew up they went into politics and started the progressive movement.

The federal government was no longer just to provide for the common defense. To run the postal service. To treat with other nations. To trade with other nations. Run our custom houses. No. Now the federal government grew to be kinder, softer and more motherly. The progressives expanded the role of the federal government in our lives. Woodrow Wilson wanted to turn the country into a quasi monarchy. With a very strong executive branch that could rule against the wishes of Congress. The Federal Reserve (America’s central bank) came into existence during Wilson’s presidency. Which was going to end recessions forever. Then came the Great Depression. A crisis so good that FDR did not let it go to waste. FDR expanded the size of the federal government. Putting it on a path of permanent growth. And it’s been growing ever since.

The federal government grew beyond its Constitutional limits. And the intent of the Founding Fathers. Just as Thomas Jefferson feared. It consolidated power just as all monarchies did. And that was Jefferson’s fear. Consolidation. Seeing the states absorbed by a leviathan federal government. Becoming the very thing the American colonists fought for independence from. So that’s when the federal government changed. In the early 20th Century. Before that it spent money mostly for defense and a postal service. Now it spends money for every social program under the sun. There is great debate now in Washington about reducing the deficit. With the Democrats blaming the deficit problems on too much defense spending. And too little taxation on the rich. But if you look at the history of federal spending since 1940 the numbers say otherwise (see Table 3.1—OUTLAYS BY SUPERFUNCTION AND FUNCTION: 1940–2017 and A History of Debt In The United States).

As defense spending (including Veterans Benefits and Services) rose during World War II non-defense spending (Education, Training, Employment, Social Services, Health, Income Security, Social Security, Energy, Natural Resources, Environment, Commerce, Housing Credit, Transportation, Community and Regional Development, International Affairs, General Science, Space, Technology, Agriculture, Administration of Justice and General Government) fell as a percentage of total federal outlays. And the federal debt rose (federal debt is in constant 2012 dollars). After the war defense spending fell to 50% while the percentage of non-defense spending rose. And the federal debt dropped slightly and remained relatively constant for about 30 years.

This tug of war between defense spending and non-defense spending is also called the guns vs. butter debate. Where those in favor of spending money on guns at the federal level are more constructionists. They want to follow the Constitution as the Founding Fathers wrote it. While those who favor spending money on butter at the federal level want to buy more votes by giving away free stuff.

Defense spending ramped back up for the Korean War and the Cold War during the Fifties. After the armistice ended hostilities in Korea defense spending began a long decline back to about 50% of all federal outlays. Where it flattened out and rose slightly for the Vietnam War. After America exited the Vietnam War defense spending entered a long decline where it dropped below 30% of all federal outlays. Reagan’s defense spending raised defense spending back up to 30%. After Reagan won the Cold War Clinton enjoyed the peace dividend and cut defense spending down to just below 20%. After 9/11 Bush increased defense spending just above 20% of all federal outlays where it remains today.

During this time non-defense spending was basically the mirror of defense spending. Showing that they decreased defense spending over time to increase non-defense spending. But there wasn’t enough defense spending to cut so borrowing took off during the Reagan administration. It leveled off during the Clinton administration as he enjoyed the peace dividend after the defeat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Non-defense spending soared over 70% of all federal outlays during the Bush administration. Requiring additional borrowings. Then President Obama increased non-defense spending so great it resulted in record deficits. Taking the federal debt to record highs.

So is defense spending the cause of our deficits? No. Defense spending as a percentage of all federal outlays is near a historical low. While non-defense spending has soared to a record high. As has our federal debt. Clearly showing that the driving force behind our deficits and debt is non-defense spending. Not defense spending. Nor is it because we’re not taxing people enough. We’re just spending too much. In about 50 years non-defense spending rose from around 22% of all federal outlays to 74%. An increase of 223%. While defense spending fell from 76% to 22%. A decline of 245%. While the federal debt rose 619%. And interest on the debt soared 24,904%. The cost of favoring butter in the guns vs. butter debate. The federal government has been gutting the main responsibility of the federal government, defense, to pay for something that didn’t enter the federal government until the 20th Century. All that non-defense spending. Which doesn’t even include the postal service today.

Politics 101

The Founding Fathers were Gentlemen of the Enlightenment with Sound Philosophical Beliefs

Politicians have to win elections. They have to persuade and convince people to vote for them. Once upon a time that meant vigorous debate where candidates explained why their way was the better way. Going right back to the Founding. Where Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson bitterly contested each other’s vision for the country. And the debate often got dirty. Such as when Hamilton’s political enemies exposed his extramarital affair with the con-woman Mrs. Reynolds who seduced Hamilton with the purpose of blackmailing him. Who wanted to use this information to say he was involved in a bigger scheme with Mr. Reynolds in defrauding the federal government.

Treasury Secretary Hamilton met three gentlemen of the political opposition in private. Admitting to his affair. And proved beyond a shadow of doubt that all money paid to the blackmailers came from Hamilton’s private funds. Not a penny came from the Treasury Department. According to 18th century gentlemanly behavior the matter was closed. The affair was a personal matter. It would be imprudent to make it a public issue. But upon Hamilton’s retirement a bitter political enemy leaked this information to a scandalmonger. James Callender. Who wrote a book exposing this private matter. The History of the United States for the Year 1796. Jefferson had helped to finance Callender. And reveled in Hamilton’s scandal. But when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. And Jefferson did. For Callender published articles confirming rumors that Jefferson had fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings.

Politics then were just as dirty as they are today. And often crossed the line. But underneath all the scandals and mudslinging there were philosophical principles. They did these things for principle. For they feared the opposition and what their policies would do the fledgling nation. There was political patronage and political corruption. But above that was a battle of competing political ideology. Waged by men well read in history. Familiar with John Locke. And Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu. Icons of the Enlightenment. Whose philosophies can be found in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. These Founding Fathers were rich propertied men. Established in their careers. Who had little left to prove. These gentlemen of the Enlightenment did what they did not for money or political favor. So they could live a more comfortable life. They did these things out of principle. Based on sound philosophical beliefs.

The Democrats try to Scare the Bejesus out of People to Get and Keep the Republicans out of Office

It’s not like that anymore. Instead of rich successful people entering politics for selfless reasons people of no accomplishments enter politics to become rich and powerful. Who have no principles. Who will buy and sell anyone to remain in power. Of course they don’t campaign by saying this. Instead, their campaigns are based on hopes and fears. And the telling a lot of lies. With little principle. Or sound philosophical beliefs.

In 2008 President Obama campaigned on hope and change. To get away from the partisan politics of the past. Democrats continue to peddle hope. Health care for everyone. College degrees for everyone. High-paying green jobs and energy independence. A return of manufacturing jobs. Spending our way out of recession with Keynesian stimulus spending. A bigger social safety net. Talking to our enemies instead of going to war with them. And making them like us by resolving all of our differences with diplomacy. That we can have whatever we want. If only we got the Republicans out of office.

While at the same time the Democrats try to scare the bejesus out of people if we don’t get and keep the Republicans out of office. For the Republicans want to take away birth control and abortion from women. And keep them from being independent and having careers. The poor will remain poor. The rich will get richer. And the hungry will die. Slavery will be reinstituted. The Republicans will tax the middle class more so they can give tax breaks to rich corporations. They will burden the nation with massive deficits with their tax cuts for the rich. Global warming will continue unchecked. Our drinking water will be polluted. And our atmosphere will become poisonous to breathe. All because Republicans put profit before people.

The Left tells a lot of Lies to Win Elections because all they have are Failed Keynesian Economic Policies

Republicans, on the other hand, peddle the hope that we can return to the prosperity of Ronald Reagan. By cutting tax rates. For throughout U.S. history whenever the government cut tax rates prosperity followed. As well as flooded the treasury with tax dollars. For contrary to the fear peddling of the Democrats cuts in tax rates have historically increased tax revenue. And can again. As Ronald Reagan campaigned in 1984, it can be Morning in America again. We can be prouder, stronger and better.

While at the same time Republicans like to scare people with national security issues. The Clinton administration handled terrorist attacks against America in the courts. Which emboldened America’s enemies into an escalation of attacks resulting in 9/11. The one in 2001. Not the attack in 2012 on the U.S consulate in Benghazi. While the Democrats believe our enemies hate us because George W. Bush made them hate us with his cowboy swaggering ways. And that was the only reason. Even though Bush had little time to swagger before the attacks on 9/11. Those in 2001. Not the ones in 2012. The Republicans say our enemies hate us for who we are. As we are too Christian. And allow our women to have careers and use birth control and abortion. Something our enemies won’t allow their women to have.

President Obama did not end partisan politics. He lied about that. For his administration has been perhaps the most partisan in U.S. history. With no interest whatsoever in compromise. He and the Democrats continue to lie about the Reagan tax cuts. And the Bush tax cuts. Blaming tax cuts for all our woes. And our deficits. Despite those tax cuts increasing tax revenue. They lied about a war on women. Having one of their cronies in the mainstream media create it by asking Mitt Romney if he wanted to take away women’s birth control. And they continuously spread the lie that the rich aren’t paying their fair share in taxes. When the top 10% of income earners pay about 70% of all federal income taxes.

So the Left tells a lot of lies to win elections. Because that’s all they have. They do not have a Morning in America they can talk about. Just failed Keynesian economic policies. Like the 4 years of Jimmy Carter. The 4 years of President Obama. And what may have been the 4 years of Bill Clinton had it not been for the Republicans taking control of Congress 2 years into his presidency. Of course the Republicans can tell a lie, too. The big one being their claim of being conservative like Ronald Reagan. As they too often fall for the lies coming from the Left. And appear more interested in living a comfortable life than sound philosophical beliefs.

2012 Election

John Adams was descended from the Puritans who landed at Plymouth Rock

John Adams was the Rodney Dangerfield of the Founding Fathers. He got no respect. However deserving he was of respect. The man was brilliant. Well read. Honest. Virtuous. But irascible. And vain. He knew he was right when he was right. And was more than eager to argue with anyone that was wrong. Which was most of the time. Tending to make most people not love him. A lot. Earning him monikers like His Rotundity. Because he was portly. Irascible. And not really loved. Which bothered Adams. For he was one of the greatest of the Founding Fathers. But others got all the love. Such as Thomas Jefferson. The junior Congressman they delegated the writing of the Declaration of Independence to after Adams did all the heavy lifting in Congressional debate to lead the nation to declare their independence. While Jefferson sat through all those heated debates silently. For, unlike Adams, Jefferson did not like public confrontations. He preferred stabbing people in the back through surrogates. Or in the press. As Adams would learn firsthand during the 1800 presidential election.

Adams was a very religious man. His family descended from the Puritans who landed at Plymouth Rock. Who stressed filling your day with hard work and going to church. And if you had any time left in the day you might get a little eating or sleeping in. Adams was a farmer. And had the hands of a working man. But he was also a lawyer. A very good lawyer. Who had as much reverence for the law as he did for his religion. So much so that he represented the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. After the Stamp Act (1765) things were getting a little heated in Boston. Adams then wrote the Braintree Instructions in response to the Stamp Act. Stating that there should be no taxation without representation. Calling for trial by jury. And an independent judiciary. Things the British denied the good people in the American colonies. But things Adams insisted that the Americans shouldn’t deny to the British soldiers who shot those Americans in Boston. So he represented the British on trial when no one else would take the case. And he got a jury of Bostonians to acquit all but two who they found guilty of manslaughter.

Just about every Bostonian wanted the British soldiers found guilty of murder and hung. Bu the rule of law prevailed. As Adams convinced the jury that the British did not just open fire on innocent bystanders. There was a mob harassing the British. Throwing snowballs and chunks of ice. And other projectiles. Someone knocked a British soldier to the ground. While the mob grew in size. And in intensity. Provoking the British to discharge their weapons. As much as the British killing these Americans bothered Adams so did an unruly mob. His religious teachings emphasized hard work and prayer. Not drunkenness and mob violence. However, Boston had always had drunken, unruly mobs. But they didn’t always get shot by British redcoats. So why did they this time? Because British redcoats were quartered within the city of Boston. This was the kindling that led to the mob action. Which was yet another British violation of the good people of Boston.

A Strong enough Naval Force acts like an Impregnable Fortress Wall to any Hostile Power

When the British marched to Lexington and Concord to seize some weapons in 1775 and exchanged shots with the Americans a state of war existed. The Revolutionary War had started even though their declaration of independence was another year away. Up to this time most of the trouble with the British was in Massachusetts. And some states wanted to leave it in Massachusetts. Which was a problem for Massachusetts. For they couldn’t take on the British Empire by themselves. But if the states united together they had a chance. Adams understood this. So when it came time to choose a commander for the Continental Army he looked to a Virginian. George Washington. After they voted to declare their independence he looked at another Virginian to write the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson. Understanding that they had to make this an American Revolution. Not just a Massachusetts one. For only a union of their several states could withstand the mightiest military power on the planet. But not just any union. One that would release all the latent energies of the several states. A republican union.

After declaring their independence the first order of business for the states was to replace the British governing structure. And that started with the writing of new constitutions. To make those new state governments. That could join in a republican union. Something Adams had given much thought and study to. He believed in the separation of powers between the executive, the judicial and the legislative branches. To provide checks and balances. And a bicameral legislature. A lower house to represent the common people. And an upper house to represent the rich people. With an executive to represent the state. Such that the interests of the many, the few and the one were all represented. Similar to Great Britain’s two houses of Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords) and the king. Though, of course, having versions of these that weren’t corrupt. Thus not allowing one group of people (or person) to dictate policy to the other group of people (or person). Thereby avoiding a pure democracy and mob rule. A characteristic of a single-house legislature. As France would demonstrate during their French Revolution.

After delegating the busy work of writing the Declaration of Independence to the junior member from Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, Adams dove into the work of building a navy. What he liked to call ‘wooden walls’. For a strong enough naval force acted like an impregnable fortress wall to any hostile power. The British Empire ruled the world because the Royal Navy was the most powerful navy in the world. She could protect her coasts. Prevent the landing of armies. Keep foreign warships out of canon range of her cities. And even protect her trade routes. In a day of competing mercantile empires dependent on their shipping lanes having a navy to protect those shipping lanes made the difference between empire and former empire. As few picked fights with the nations with the big navies. Adams understood this. And he believed in it. Peace through strength. For a strong navy was a deterrent to aggressive nations.

If John Adams were Alive Today he would Likely Endorse the Republican Candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

But Adams was no warmonger. During his presidency Napoleon came to power in France and was waging war across Europe. And against American shipping. Once again Adams fought to build up the navy. To erect those wooden walls. To be able to protect American shipping on the open seas as France and Great Britain returned to war. President Washington maintained a policy of neutrality in their latest war. Adams continued that policy. Which infuriated the French. And the American people. As the French had helped the Americans win their revolution the French and the American people believed the Americans should help the French win theirs. So the French seized American shipping. And demanded tribute from the American ambassadors in France before beginning any peace discussions. When news of this leaked out to the American people (known as the XYZ Affair) the public sentiment on France changed. And soon everyone was demanding a declaration of war on France. Adams tried one more peace commission while at the same time the growing American navy fought back against French naval aggression in an undeclared war. The Quasi-War. Eventually peace came. Through strength.

Adams was pretty much everywhere in the making of the American nation. From the Braintree Instructions to supporting George Washington to winning the debate for independence to the writing of states’ constitutions to building a republican union. He helped build American naval power. And he avoided war with France when just about everybody wanted war with France. But one place he was not was in Philadelphia in 1787. Even though his constitution writing skills were second to none he did not help draft the U.S. Constitution. For he was busy in Holland. Getting the first foreign power (the Netherlands) to recognize the United States following their victory in the Revolutionary War. He negotiated a Dutch loan. Negotiated a treaty of amity and commerce with the Dutch. And established the first American-owned embassy on foreign soil.

If Adams were alive today he probably would not be a fan of the Democrat Party. And their constant use of class warfare. Especially when the top 10% of earners pay about 70% of all federal income taxes. While about 50% of the population pays no federal income taxes. This does not represent the interests of the many, the few and the one. The few pay the majority of tax revenue and have the least say in how that money is spent. Taking the nation closer to a pure democracy. And mob rule. While at the same time the Democrats use the courts to write unpopular legislation they want but can’t pass in Congress. Where a few judges can write law through court opinions. A great offense to a pure jurist like Adams. And transforming ‘the one’ into a leviathan of special interests and cronyism. Knowing how hard it was to secure loans to pay the nation’s war debt in his day he would be appalled at the size of the annual deficits and the accumulated debt today. And the constant refrain that the rich need to pay their fair share even though about 10% of all Americans are already paying approximately 70% of the tax bill. The character assassination of Mitt Romney by the Obama Campaign would be too reminiscent of the abuse he suffered through in the 1800 election. And as a firm believer in the policy of peace through strength he would not like the massive cuts in defense spending. Which will only encourage more attacks like the one on the American embassy in Benghazi. An obvious sign that our enemies don’t fear us. And are not deterred by our strength. No, if John Adams were alive today he would likely endorse the Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.